INSECTS 



If sometime in the woods you should chance to see a 

 short, slender piece of twig suddenly come to life and 

 slowly walk away on six slim legs, the marvel would not be 



a miracle, but a walking-stick in- 

 sect (Fig. 43). These insects are 

 fairly common in the eastern parts 

 of the United States, but on ac- 

 count of their resemblance to 

 twigs, and their habit of remaining 

 perfectly quiet tor a long time 

 with the body pressed close to a 

 branch of a tree, they are more 

 frequently overlooked than seen. 

 Sometimes, however, they occur 

 locally in great numbers. It is 

 supposed that the stick insects so 

 closely resemble twigs for the pur- 

 pose of protection from their 

 enemies, but it has not been shown 

 just what enemies they avoid by 

 their elusive shape. The stick in- 

 sects are more common in the 

 South and in tropical countries, 

 where some attain a remarkable 

 length, one species from Africa, 

 for example, being eleven inches 

 long when full-grown. In New 

 Guinea there lives a species that 

 looks more like a small club than 

 a stick, it being a large, heavy- 

 bodied, spiny creature, nearly 

 six inches in length and an 

 inch in width through the thick- 

 est part of its body (Fig. 44). 



Other members of the phasmid family have specialized 

 on imitating leaves. These insects have wings in the 

 adult stage, and, of course, the wings make it easier for 



[72] 



Fig. 44. A gigantic spiny 

 walking-stick insect, Eury- 

 canthus horrida, from New 

 Guinea. (Length $*4 

 inches) 



